Nahim Jolly Arrested for Stealing Laptop from Gifft Hill School

V.I. Police Department officials arrested 19-year-old Nahim Jolly, of Estate Chocolate Hole, on Sunday, May 10, when he was spotted with a laptop computer which was stolen from Gifft Hill School.

GHS officials reported a burglary while the school was closed for a long weekend during St. Thomas carnival. After locking the school around 7 p.m. on Thursday, April 30, officials opened the doors on Monday, May 4, around 7 a.m., to discover that someone had broken into several classrooms, explained VIPD spokesperson Melody Rames.

 “The GHS principal discovered that a few classrooms had been broken into by an unknown person or persons,” said Rames. “It was discovered that cash was taken from teachers’ desks and a laptop was stolen.”

The Sunday after the burglary was reported, VIPD Officer Bernard Lettsome spotted Jolly in downtown Cruz Bay with a laptop which resembled one reported stolen from GHS, Rames explained.

Lettsome took the laptop to the Leander Jurgen Command and checked the serial number which matched that of the stolen one from GHS, according to the VIPD spokesperson.

When questioned by Lettsome, Jolly, a native of Dominica, admitted to stealing the laptop, according to Rames.
“Jolly was arrested and charged with possession of stolen property,” she said.

Jolly appeared before V.I. Superior Court Judge Michael Dunston, who found probable cause to uphold the charge of possession, for which he faces 10 years in prison and a $7,000 fine. Jolly’s arraignment was scheduled for May 21.

School offiicials had a record of the serial number of the laptop — valued at $800 — which was critical to identifying the stolen item, Rames added.

“Copying a serial number is one of the things we try to get people to do all the time,” said Rames. “People should keep track of the serial numbers of their possessions and put them somewhere safe and separate. Without the serial numbers its really difficult to identify a stolen item.”